


Unexpected Comforts

by janjanfollower



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Service Top, Touch-Starved, nsfw to come
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-06 04:09:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17932565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janjanfollower/pseuds/janjanfollower
Summary: Caduceus knew enough to not pry into people, and knew it’d be a matter of time for Caleb truly show himself, but he didn’t expect it to happen from a simple touch.





	Unexpected Comforts

**Author's Note:**

> my friend: hey look at this 300 word clayleb drabble  
> me: [reads it]  
> me: ... yeah i could write that

Even though they’ve been on this boat for aweeks by this point, Caduceus still couldn’t get used to it. To feel the world shift under him with each step, look all over and see no land or dirt or earth… He felt so far from the Wildmother. If he were a fearful sort, probably by now the nerves would’ve kicked in and felled him from continuing, pleading and begging to return to the grove. Has it been overrun, is anything broken or stolen, has their family land been disgraced, is there even a land or home to return to? Luckily, each of these fears have been held and touched by the Wildmother, Her fine and dirt-colored hands quietly smothering each and every one of them with Her love. He knew there was nothing to fear. He’d soon enough return home. 

Until then… Caduceus took a heavy sigh to no one in particular, and looked around to see scattered overnight crewmates working and tending to the Squalleater, ignoring him in favor of rope tying and sail unfurling. Seeing the moonlight gleam against the white sails was beautiful, everything perfectly visible under the full moon, the queen amongst her court of stars. It was sometimes a little intimidating, almost nauseating, if Cad was being honest. He looked up, and with the nausea of the stars mixing with the nausea of sea, he quickly fled for a roof above him. 

Even if it was small. His head practically scraped against the ceiling, and he had to hunch deeper than his usual state of hunch. Caduceus managed a few slow stumbles towards the cots given to his friends before he could hear a soft hissing sound, and quiet whispered Zemnian. He slowly walked towards the sound. 

“Caleb?” Caduceus asked, and watched Caleb give a small jump in his seat before putting (tossing?) something to his hidden side. He looked up at Cad standing over him, revealing more of his body. Frumpkin sat next to the wizard amongst dirty bandages, dirt dug deep into the fibers of the cloth, a faint glimmer from the salt crystals left over from their past underwater journey… Blood staining maybe a third of the medical ribbon. “Oh geez. What happened?”

“Ah, it is just a little uh,” Caleb stammered into a beginning. “Small wound, it is no big deal, I figure since we were underwater its sterile anyway. I was just… Checking it.” He said, averting his gaze to look at the now exposed shoulder wound. It was maybe two inches in length, and rather deep; most of it had clotted up, but he could tell if it healed wrong it would be a problem. 

“Here, lemme help,” Cad said, ignoring Caleb’s frantic pleas that it was fine, he didn’t need any help. “Oh it’s no worries, I still got some juice in me anyway,” He dismissed with a loose grin, moving away the old bandages from the cot and shooing away Frumpkin in the same arm sweep. He sat next to Caleb as he sighed away his resistance, putting his large fuzzy hands on Caleb’s right bicep. 

Caduceus called for the Wildmother, closing his eyes to give a quick and silent prayer for health as he felt the warm magic flow through his heart to his hands, magic he was so familiar with that filled him with harmony. When he opened his eyes his firbolg hands had a faint shine to it, reflecting light from his palms, as he watched the wound on Caleb’s shoulder slowly close itself and seamlessly reform the skin as errant bruises healed themselves and turned yellow and green in a matter of seconds. Caduceus grinned, proud of himself, before that smile dropped when he looked to Caleb. 

He was so focused on his spell he hadn’t noticed how Caleb had melted into him. Even with just two hands on one arm he had leaned into the touch, his posture relaxed and even his eyes closed. Caduceus noticed the constant tension that held his shoulders together was gone in this moment; he’s never seen Caleb this relaxed, except maybe in sleep. “Uh.”

Caleb jumped awake, startling himself away from the man who just healed him, and scrambling himself back into tension. “Es tut mir leid, mein freund, I was just ah, lost in myself, I had not noticed,” He stumbled out apologies while scrambling in his pack for a clean bandage, or really anything to keep his gaze down. Caduceus simply watched the human make a flushed mess of himself. 

“Caleb,” Cad placed a hand heavy on his shoulder, which stilled the skittish wizard. For some reason, it clicked to Caduceus why Caleb’s familiar was a cat. “You didn’t do anything wrong, it’s fine.” He took his hand off him, as Caleb eased somewhat into relaxation. 

He raised his left hand to rub the right side of his neck, looking intently into the sack as his cheeks flushed. “Thank you,” His voice was just a whisper, withdrawn deep into the shell that surrounded all of Caleb. Frankly, even seeing that flash of relaxation shocked Caduceus; he knew by now that Caleb was a withdrawn sort, not willing to bring his voice upfront unless his skills were relevant for the problem. He rarely offered personal information. Any stories he would tell would be with him and Nott, or him and the Nein; never only him, no personal stories, no father or mother he ever spoke about. Caduceus knew enough to not pry into information people aren’t willing to give up, and knew it’d be a matter of time to see Caleb truly show himself, but he didn’t expect it to happen because a healing touch. 

“Hey,” Caduceus began slowly, after he let a beat settle to analyze Caleb. “When was the last time… Someone held you?” Caleb snorted, looking away from the seated cleric and shaking his head. “No I’m serious. You know it’s actually bad not to have physical contact with people,” He began with putting a hand on Caleb’s knee. “It’s like… Not having water. It can kill you if you don’t have enough.”

Caleb didn’t say anything, but he glanced at Caduceus’s hand and quickly looked away, not shaking him off. That’s a good sign, Cad thought. They sat in that silent beat for a small while, Caleb whirring away inside that brilliant brain of his as Caduceus silently waited and watched him formulate his answer. “I…” His voice wasn’t even a whisper, the pronoun eaten up by the churns of seawater 30 feet from their seats. “have not.”

Well then, he thought with a grin, there we go. Caduceus sighed against his smile and scooted closer to Caleb, swinging his large arm to his other side and resting part of his chest against Caleb’s. He froze up immediately, becoming a board inside his clothes. “You adjust at your speed,” Caduceus instructed, slipping into a memory of years ago; comforting dozens of lonely spouses who simply needed a hug with love, learning to read people by the subtle movements they make and how to help them pass on, being the shepherd to show people their end. Whether or not someone died, those lessons of empathy could always be useful to those who need it. 

He stayed with Caleb for a while, slipping into the mindfulness he’s spent endless winters within, before he could feel any difference. It was Caleb slowly sliding into the touch, into the body warmth that they both knew would be nice on this cold ship. It was the soft thud of his bag hitting the wooden floor, his iron-clad anxiety grip melted, and his arms easily dropping, being so close that Caduceus could just barely feel Caleb’s elbow brush against him. It was nice. Caduceus smiled. 

Cad waited another while before he said anything. “I can go, if you want,” He softly said, looking at Caleb. “We can stop, whenever you want, we will go at yo-”

“No-No,” Caleb blurted, shaking his head as his muscles tensed again. “It’s-I-It’s quite… This-This is fine.” He kept his head down, though his voice was shy and… Caduceus couldn’t tell if that was embarrassment too. 

Caduceus was old enough to recognize baby steps. He raised his arm and rubbed Caleb’s arm up and down with a gentle grip. “Yeah,” He droned, softly resting his cheek on top of Caleb’s head. “This is fine.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you Alarnia for writing a wonderful service top drabble, which sent my writer brain into hyperdrive for the first time all year. Next part will probably be sexy, or post-battle with a Beau cameo; who really knows right now, it deffo ain't me.
> 
> Thank you Ash for showing me the drabble and beta reading, and thank YOU for reading and enjoying!


End file.
